Messi, Ronaldo and the full 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist

The 30-man shortlist to win the 2016 Ballon d'Or was revealed over the course of Monday, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi both included.

After the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year awards merged in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or, that partnership came to an end this year, allowing both prizes to return to their original formats.

Messi was last year's Ballon d'Or winner and Ronaldo is the odds-on favourite to pick up this year's crown, with Kaka's 2007 win the last time either of the Barcelona and Real Madrid stars did not emerge victorious.

The 30-man shortlist will be the only group of nominations announced and a final three will not emerge prior to the announcement of the winner.